What should i be feeding my 16 month old?

Question

i have a 16 month old son, who is very finiky when it comes to food. The only thing that he likes on a consistant basis are Hormel Cups (mac n cheese and chicken noodle rings), cookies ( of course), and crackers - he HATES anything that has tomato sauce (spagettie, ketsup, ect.), he hates eggs, he doesn't like dairy products, and hates milk....well he doesn't like very much of anything........everything else is like "whatever..maybe i'll eat it today, maybe not tomorrow"

what do/did you you feed your kids at this age? I'm a very paranoid parent, who thinks that my kid is going to starve to death if he misses a meal or doesn't eat enough in one day. i know that this wont happen, but i cant help myself. ANY SUGGESTIONS WOULD BE HELPFUL!

THANKS SO MUCH!


- i have tried a lot of different things....like granola bars, nutri grain bars, yogurt, jello, pudding, dried fruit, raisins....he hates them all.

Answer 1

First of all, don't worry. Kids go through these phases. As long as he's eating something!! Make sure you give him a vitamin supplement. He's still too young for chewable vitamins but there are liquid vitamins that you can give him directly or put it in his favorite drink. Both of my kids (and every one I know) went through this. My daughter lived on mac n cheese, bananas, and spaghetti o's for 3 months because that's all she would eat. My son loved plain yogurt with raisins. It's just something they do. They're now 18 and 13 and healthy. And my daughter won't touch spaghetti o's now !!

Answer 2

I make my son try all new foods. If he doesn't like it the first time, I try it again. Another trick I use is have him eat a veggie before the preferred item. It usually works well. I do not make a big deal if he doesn't eat dinner, because he may not be hungry, but he doesn't get a cookie either. Your son will not starve if he doesn't eat what is presented to him. I agree with the one paren to get away from processed food, it is full of junk and high in sodium. Give him 2 choices and then stick with whateve he choses. However, do not give him his favorite food as a choice. The lack of variety in his diet at far as textures can have a long term effect on his speech as his jaw muscles will not have been used enough.
If you give him a small amount of a food item with no other option, after a few meals he will start to try them. If after trying an item several times and he doesn't like it wait a few months and try again. You will eventually learn, what he truely doesn't like and what he just won't eat, there is a difference.
When I was little, I refused to eat pizza. I got spaghetti o's until my little brother was old enough for pizza. Then I was made to eat a little bit at a time and now I love pizza.
Plus, if you cater to him now, you will be catoring to him forever, he won't eat school lunches and you will get exhausted preparing separate foods for him. Also, once he is out of the high chair he can run from the table.

My son goes through phases where he won't eat 1 or 2 normal items, but he doesn't get anything special either.
try mustard, mayo, parmesian cheese, barbecue sauce to give his food some kick.

Answer 3

I have always fed my son healthy meals only. He gets:
Meat:
eggs, chicken (sometimes most the time he wont eat it), tuna (about 1 tablespoon a week to avoid mercury poisoning), and ground turkey and beef, beans
NO: peanutbutter or nuts incase allergies

Dairy:
Cottagecheese, chunch cheese (american, cheddar, etc), Mozzerella string cheese, whole Vit. D Milk (no more than 2 glasses a day)

Veggies:
Endless- Anything he'll eat on any given day. Spinache can be mixed into anything really well and babies cant taste it or tell its there so thats a big favorite, broccoli chopped small, peas, cauliflower, he loves carrots from a can or stewed from like pot roast

Fruit:
I buy canned fruit thats canned in pear juice with no sugar added or made with splenda. My baby does not get sugar unless from graham crackers or animal crackers.

Breads
Whole grain bread, brown rice, enriched fiber filled pasta etc. with cheese or red sauce or white sauce but not much since it usualy has alot of sodium

there it is in a nut shell. Like I said I'm a stickler though. My baby never gets cookies period. If there is no nutritional value he doesnt get it. For your little one Keep offering him things eventually he will eat it especialy if you limit his snacks inbetween meals. Babies wont let themselves starve.

Answer 4

Your son is just being picky because he can be. There's very little in a 16-month-old's life that he can control -- one of them being what he puts (or doesn't put) into his mouth. When my son was this age, he did the same type of thing. I usually made him what he liked to eat - turkey dogs, PB&J, mac and cheese, lots of veggies -- and also gave him a little bit of what we were eating for dinner just so he could get a little taste. Remember, you may have to introduce a food up to 10 or 15 times for a child to eat it. Just be patient and introduce it in small amounts.

My son loved string cheese (still does), all kinds of fruit -- either diced small or the sugar free kind out of a can. Diced, cooked carrots, grilled cheese -- really anything he can eat with his hands. Let him get messy, but also give him a spoon to hold. It won't work well, but he'll feel like a big boy and he'll learn to use it faster. My son is 21-months and uses a fork and spoon most of the time to eat.

Remember not to make a big deal out of his eating right now, just stay consistent. I think I wrecked myself a little on this one because I'd say "oh, please eat" "why won't he eat" and fussed about it. Guess what? That only made him do it more because he knew he got a reaction out of me. My hubby had to break me of that habit. It's tough love, but he told me over and over "The child will not let himself starve." The baby will eat. Trust me.

Just don't make a deal out of it and don't say things like he "hates" something or "doesn't like" something around him or he'll learn that. Good luck!

Answer 5

nicely i'm no longer organic and organic or anti processed ingredients so if my techniques discust you i'm sorry. nicely besides what you're eating there is pizza (you will possibly be able to make a white pizza with hen and cheese and vegetables I try this usually, regardless of leftovers!) I do a raman stirfry via boiling noodles and frying them with the stirfry vegetables and especially cases meat. Plus i do no longer see injury in a brunch each and every so usually eggs and toast and peaches for lunch especially cases hit the spot after breakfast cereal that morning. Stews are stable too, i'm getting the canned confident yet you will possibly be able to make your person the day in the previous in case you do unlike canned. Then there is hen nuggets (purchase the stable sort on the keep they make organic and organic) with chopped grapes and carrots. those are basically some techniques and you will possibly be able to upload or substitute despite, it extremely is only techniques I have been given from what I feed my own son. as quickly as extra, no flames, i'm no longer a well-being food junkie i come across alls nice moderately.

Answer 6

My suggestion is to give him something to eat and if he doesnt eat it then don't bring out that cookies and mac and cheese because f you do that then he knows he will always get it if he makes a fuss.
If you stop doing this then he will start eating what you offer him, and remember that he will definitely not starve himself, he will eat anything if he is really hungry.

Some things my 18 moth old enjoys:
Weetabix, toast, any fruit, cheese, curry, stir fry, spaghetti, pasta, baked potatoes

Answer 7

I have a 16 month old too. Her doctor says that her age group, she will start to like and dislike certain foods. And her appetite will fluxuate. Since he hates milk, try chocolate milk. As for sauces, make his meal that requires dipping with sauces. They are more likely to want to dip something into sauces and eat it rather than just eat sauce.

Answer 8

Serve him what YOU want him to have. Give him a certain amount of time to eat what you've offered. Then get him out of the high chair--calmly, no power struggle--and say, no matter how much or little he's eaten--OK, all done till the next meal. Then stick to it. Otherwise you will be fostering one picky little eater for the future. Nip it in the bud now, without making a power struggle of it between you.

Answer 9

You HAVE to start feeding him regular food that the rest of the family is eating, and cut out all this processed, prepackaged stuff. He's in real trouble if he's not eating dairy; you had better get him to a doctor for advise about that.
At this age, I fed my son everything, and had fun introducing new foods and vegetables to him. Sometimes when he wouldn't like something, my husband or I would make a game of it, or make up stories. One was, our son didn't want to eat rice at a meal, and my husband asked him "Don't you want to grow up to have black hair like me?" (my son always did, his own was brown), and hubby explained if he ate his rice, he would have darker hair when he grew up.
For something like asparagus, we called it asparaGOOSE, and made a big deal out of it. When I made soup, I floated croutons on top and we called that Reindeer Nose Soup.
Also, read the book Stone Soup to him, and he helped make it, so of course he ate it.
The biggest thing is not worrying about kids NOT eating. Don't offer alternatives; kids will eat anything if they are hungry.
I just really think you, as the mom, has to smarten up and maybe read up a little more about nutrition, and stop it with the pre-made stuff, especially. You have to stop these bad habits for him asap.

Answer 10

start small. get some spaghetti o's and pretend to eat them. sometimes my kids will eat what i eat. my 5 year old is still really picky. but my 3 year old will eat what i eat. try mashed potatoes with a little bit of cheese and sour cream mixed in. and just regular sliced cheese. most of all, share your concerns with your son's dr. they may have more of an idea for you than anyone on here. =)